Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-08-01

f1gre The stor mailed TO them fo- any length o
fine, and The address changed as often as desired
The subscription p,ust be fnraria5ly paid In al
,unce.
A curious state of things prevails In the Georgis
labor market, where the operatives In the cottor
mills are struggling to prevent the enactment o.
law limiting the number of hours In a day.
work, on the ground that it puts an arbitrary re
striction on their power to earn money. Contrary
TO the general rule In the north it Is the employ
ers who are insisting upon shorter hours. ON the
theory that they get better work out OF mar
who Is not tired In such a controversy as this
both parties have an element Of right on theiI
side. The employer who demands that his oper.
alive shall not exhaust his strength may have a
selfish purpose primarily, but he Is really doine
that which Is best for the operative also; q man
who husbands his vitality not only gets more
comfort out OF life, but gets 1t for longer period
and remains an active and self-supporting pro-
Queer after his used-up competitor has had to
Quit work. On the other hand, men differ In their
capacity for wholesome labor; and it seems a
hardship TO compel man whose normal day Is q
long one to throw away a certain per centage OF
his time because the hand who stands next him
at the mill Is not flt TO work long as he. There
Is broad room TO question the wisdom of restrictive
legislation In such n field as this beyond the fix
ing Of definite period which shall be always un-
derstood as working day In the absence OF spe-
ciic contract TO the contrary. No prohibitory
rule can be made entirely satisfactory to both
parties concerned. and q just mean Is most likely
TO be reached where the details left to be ar.
ranged as each new issue arises.
Jefferson Davis Is taking hand In Texas poll
tics having written q letter for public consump-
ton denouneing the prohibition idea. Naturally,
the Texas prohibitionists, who have worked hard
Tor their cause. and who thought they saw victory
almost within their grasp, regard this erusion
with sentiments OF mingled Indignation and regret
The white men Of the south are begin to divide on
modern questions, and 1t will be very difficult for
Nj Davis to prevent himself and the ideas which
he represents from being partially shelved as liv-
Ing issues. Mr.. Davis suggests that the prohibi-
tioa movement is a disguised enemy OF State SOW
ereignty, and that OF course disposes OF prohibi-
ton. The doctor who was ''death on fits" and
who, therefore, as a first step IN his treatment
threw all his patients into ts doubtless suggested
Mr.. Daviss plan OF disposng Of all living questions
In the South by throwing them into an imputed
position OF hostility TO state sovereignty 1t ia
time that the South ceased to be so divided into
hostile camps by race and war prejudices that no
contention over great public questions can be per-
mitted TO break down the old barriers And it is
time that modern questions were decided there on
their merits, and not through the influence or so
phistieal Appeals to State sovereignty ~ the ex-
DreSlQSnt oil the confederate states.
The experience OF the steamer Cmbria as related
In to-day's dispatches, is not a usual one The
tidal wave on the sea coast has become q compar-
atively familiar terror. On the high seas how.
ever, we rarely hear OF one, owing, perhaps to the
fact that when enc Is formidable rs to be nota-
bic, generally buries the vessel which it strikes
and there are no voyagers to tell the tale All we
know Is that the ship has not been heard from
since quitting port. What has become or her is
pure conjecture, and destruction by a tidal wave
Is about the last hypothesis that suggests itself to
the mind The salvation CT the Cmbria, when
struck by the tidal wave, was probably due to two
causes: First, that like first-class passenger
Steamers generally. she stands high out OF water:
and. second, that she met the wave almost duly
head on. Such monster mass or water, striking
her on the beam ends, would probably have over.
turned her, and then the escape OF her passengers
and crew would have been almost impossible
IL has been wisely suggested that any maris-
trate who grants the plea OF Jacob Sharp's law
yers for a stay OF execution, pending argument Of
a motion for new trial, practically sets the con-
Wet at liberty. No man In Sharp's plight at his
age, ana with his great wealth, Is likely to raise
small question OF prOpriety about skipping his
bail and passn bis declining years In comfort on
the other side OF the sea- 1t does not seem to In
volve any serious hardship for Judge to refuse
the prayer OF the condemned. II Sharp goes to
Sing sing he will have much more comfortable
quarters there than In New York CITY, The hos
ptal is well kept and the physicians are sktIlrul
Meanwhile. there Is nothing to prevent the ap-
peals from going on, TO and through the highest
court In the state All that can be done lust as
well While he is behind the bars as II he were at
large under personal bonds
romantic story is told by the captain O, the
schooner Marsh OF the escape Of the fugitive
f.Ns1<1 Mo- rsrlar
almost In their clutches. IL is a story moreover
which viii not Increase public respect for the de-
tectves who are said TO have allowed their love of
the wine-cup to render them oeiivious OF duty
The captain OF the Marsh is either a sianderer or
he has aided the escape OF a fugitive from Justice
and there Will be strong popular desire to see
him suffer some disagreeable penalty IL is Doubt
ful whether q law could be found to cover exactly
his case; but, after the part he has played. IL
would seem a pity to let him 90 wholly unpun.
ished
The State election which is held today In Ken
lucky has been robbed OF much OF its interest by
the death Of DR.. standiford the candidate for SEN
ator In opposition to Mr.. Beck. As long as he was
In the Held there was some question OF live inter.
est for the legislative vote to divide on Now
there Is practically none. Gen. Buckner although
contesting the honor with republican, prohibi.
fionist and q labor reformer Is as certain as a
POHsieiah eah De Oi Delng elected governor, and
The meeting OF the new legislature to choose a
Senator will be the merest forInalIty
The story is In circulation that Count Nitkie-
wiez- acting as the representative Of Jay Gould
and others, has established a bank In China with
capital OF twenty million dollars, and that the
foreign bankers are frightened out Of their wits
as Gould is viewed abroad as veritable Bonaparte
In finance. The foreign bankers will do well 10
control their agitation for a time. Goud,s name
is often used without authority, and the impress
sion here Is that he win invest In his bank In China